STATISTICS
CANADA: 622 HOMICIDES REPORTED IN 2004
A 12 PERCENT INCREASE FROM 2003 NOTE #1: Statistics Canada also reports that robberies with firearms were down by 3% in 2004 but they failed to mention, if previous years' trends hold true, that this means that injuries suffered by victims during robberies actually increased! FRASER FORUM: Are Guns
Really More Dangerous than Other Weapons? ------------------------------------------------------ NOTE #2: Versions of this story also ran in the Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, Regina Leader Post and Windsor Star PUBLICATION: National
Post -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dip in Ontario crime nudges national rate: Winnipeg's murder rate highest in Canada: StatsCan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTTAWA - Canada's crime rate dipped by 1% last year, Statistics Canada reported yesterday, driven in large part by cities in Ontario that reported fewer crimes. Toronto, for example, saw its crime rate drop nearly 9%, with under 5,000 offences per 100,000 people. Hamilton's rate fell 13% and Ottawa 10%, all contributing to a 5% decline in the provincial rate. By contrast, the national murder rate climbed 12% after hitting a 36-year low in 2003. The statistics, based on reports from police forces across the country, confirm a trend -- with the exception of an increase in 2003 -- of declining crime rates since 1991. The crime rate in 2004 was 12% lower than a decade earlier, StatsCan said. "It's fairly cheery news," said Dr. Robert Gordon, director of Simon Fraser University's School of Criminology. "The statistics indicate that the efforts to prevent crime are having an impact," he said, pointing to both police and community initiatives as turning the tide on crime. But he also said demographics come into play, since an ageing population means there are fewer people in the 14 to 26 age group most likely to commit common crimes. StatsCan said the overall violent crime rate, consisting mostly of common assaults, was down last year by two percentage points, which is 10% lower than a decade ago. However, it was 24% higher than 20 years ago. The national murder rate of 1.9 murders for every 100,000 population was 5% lower than it was 10 years earlier. Winnipeg recorded the highest homicide rate among the country's largest urban centres. The Manitoba capital registered well above other larger metropolitan centres, with a rate of 4.9 murders per 100,000 people. "It's not something we like to think about," said Sergeant Jim Thissen, of Winnipeg's homicide unit, noting that the city has consistently recorded among the highest per capita homicide rates in Canada for the past decade, although most of those crimes involve individuals who knew the victims. "It's not anything that is trumpeted here, or becomes a big issue," he said. Dr. Gordon cautioned anyone from reading too much into the national homicide rate increase, suggesting that those figures should be looked at over a longer period. Murder numbers also tend to be small, he said, so any fluctuation, however slight, can translate into an abrupt hike or spike in percentages. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec accounted for most of the murder rate increase. Winnipeg's homicide rate was nearly two times the rate in Vancouver, which had 2.6 murders per 100,000. Toronto's rate was 1.8, while Quebec City and Ottawa reported the lowest. Among smaller centres, Regina, Abbotsford, B.C., and Saskatoon recorded the highest rates. The rate of robberies with firearms continued to decline, as it did for property crimes, vehicle thefts and counterfeiting. The rate of violent crime among youth, those aged 12 to 17, also fell off, dropping 2%. There was a 30% decline in the youth homicide rate and a 2% decrease in the robbery rate. By contrast, drug incidents were on the upswing last year, rising 11% after declining 7% in 2003. Cannabis possession incidents climbed 15%, cocaine-related incidents increased 17% and the number of grow operation incidents in 2004 was 8,000, more than double the 3,400 incidents reported a decade earlier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATISTICS
CANADA - Thursday, July 21, 2005
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